SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’S Karate Kid Parody Makes John Cena the Bad Guy

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For all you wrestling fans tired of John Cena being an indestructible hero, and wishing he’d do a “heel turn” (i.e. play the role of a villain), Saturday Night Live last night had you covered. And Cena’s not just any villain in “The Karate Teen.” He’s the quintessentially ’80s villain–the high school bully with blond, headbanded hair and the skills to kick the nerd’s ass and take his girlfriend.

Mikey Day’s Ralph Macchio-esque hero, Jeffy Le’Hart, has an ace up his sleeve: a special karate technique based on catching coins thrown into the air by his unlikely version of Mr. Miyagi: Kenan Thompson in white beard. Does it work? Let’s just say that the skit, while over-the-top, is in some ways more realistic than either The Karate Kid or a typical John Cena WrestleMania match.

Still, short of the obsessive-compulsive, neat freak version of “himself” that Cena portrays on the reality show Total Bellas, this is probably the closest you’re going to get to seeing the pride of West Newbury being the antagonist in a fight with a predetermined finish. Unless the Rock comes back to make their ‘Mania main event series a best of three. But it proves he can be entertaining as the jerk, and makes us hope that at least in a movie, maybe he will be inclined to do more than just play hero to kids. His Trainwreck and Sisters cameos were good starts.

Can Cena win you over as a comic actor? “We can’t see you” unless you comment below with your thoughts!